What is a Judaizer?

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Senior Member

I haven't quite figured out what it means but I know I have been called one several times. Because I think we should obey the 10 commandments. I figure if we are Christians we should do what God has asked us to do.

Revelation 14:12 King James Version (KJV)

12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

If it is still being mentioned in Revelation after the cross then I guess I will die being called one....
I know and accept that Jesus died for my sins I know that without the Holy Spirit I am unable to do anything.

Yes a long standing rival .The written tradition of God.... you shall surely die, against the oral traditions as philosophies of men. . you shall not die. Trussssssst in the things seen .( No need for faith) Out of sight out of mind.

Senior Member

Yes a long standing rival .The written tradition of God.... you shall surely die, against the oral traditions as philosophies of men. . you shall not die. Trussssssst in the things seen .( No need for faith) Out of sight out of mind.

Senior Member

those that follow the example of Jesus, works and obedience, are called this. its a derogatory term used to insult Christians. its interesting that "Christian" was also a derogatory word when it was first used.

Well-known member

Hi all, I have heard this term (JUDAIZER) used alot here on the forums. From historical records it seems that the Catholic Church used this term a lot in persecution of believers from the times of the reformation but I have never seen this term used in the scriptures or any place in God's Word. I do have my own thoughts but wanted to ask you all what does a Judizer mean in your understanding of the word in the way you may use this term here at CC?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Hope this can be a friendly chat with the scriptures

But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” Gal 2:14

So, there is Scriptural basis for use of the term "Judaizer". It describes an individual who seeks to bring others under the bondage of Mosaic Covenant observances, inferring that they are requirements or conditions of salvation.

There are Judaizers in the professing Church today. They focus mainly on insisting that believers must observe physical circumcision, calendar observances or dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Covenant.

These are non-moral, ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic Law.

Quite often, they insist that non-observers are under the Mark of the Beast, or will be under the Mark of the Beast in the end-times.

In history, Ebionites would have qualified as Judaizers.

In modern day, some members of the Hebrew Roots Movement, Seventh Day Adventists, and the various sects related to Armstrongism would qualify as Judaizers.

Quite often, the accusation that non-Judaizers are morally loose is leveled. This is because they consider calendar and dietary observances to be moral issues. There are many non-Judaizers who are zealous for good works and obeying their LORD. However, they don't want to hang out with cultists and they do not agree the calendar observances and dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law are moral issues. This caricature leveled by Judaizers is often their first line of attack.

Well-known member

Hi all, I have heard this term (JUDAIZER) used alot here on the forums. From historical records it seems that the Catholic Church used this term a lot in persecution of believers from the times of the reformation but I have never seen this term used in the scriptures or any place in God's Word. I do have my own thoughts but wanted to ask you all what does a Judizer mean in your understanding of the word in the way you may use this term here at CC?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Hope this can be a friendly chat with the scriptures

But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” Gal 2:14

So, there is Scriptural basis for use of the term "Judaizer". It describes an individual who seeks to bring others under the bondage of Mosaic Covenant observances, inferring that they are requirements or conditions of salvation. In this case, Peter was behaving like a Judaizer.

There were Judaizers in Paul's day. Often, they followed him around, preaching to new congregations after he left, attempting to require Gentiles to observe Mosaic Law requirements, such as calendar and dietary observances. If one looks at Paul's writings closely, he will find references to these individuals under "those of the circumcision" causing problems, like a mongrel dog sniffing around for scraps (Philippians 3).

There are Judaizers in the professing Church today. They focus mainly on insisting that believers must observe physical circumcision, calendar observances or dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Covenant.

In fact, some go beyond that, and require other weird observances such as vegetarianism to be considered a super-duper believer.

These are non-moral, ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic Law.

Quite often, they insist that non-observers are under the Mark of the Beast, or will be under the Mark of the Beast in the end-times.

In history, Ebionites would have qualified as Judaizers.

In modern day, some members of the Hebrew Roots Movement, Seventh Day Adventists, and the various sects related to Armstrongism would qualify as Judaizers.

Quite often, the accusation that non-Judaizers are morally loose is leveled. This is because they consider calendar and dietary observances to be moral issues, and measure themselves as compared to others by external measures rather than the internal matters of the heart.

There are many non-Judaizers who are zealous for good works and obeying their LORD. However, they do not agree the calendar observances and dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law are moral issues. This caricature leveled by Judaizers is often their first line of attack in order to discredit the Church.

The issue of days is a big one with Judaizers, often considering believers to be pagans due to the observance of Sunday rather than Saturday. An insinuation is made that the Roman Catholic Church or Constantine changed the day of worship. This is inaccurate, though, as the movement away from Sunday began in the apostolic era, and by AD 135, the vast majority of Christians were not Sabbath observers. Rome was a mere bishopric at that time, and Constantine wasn't even in existence.

Senior Member

"The Pharisees with Sadaucesss two denominations putting aside their differences. to attack all things written in the law and the prophets (sola scriptura) their nemesis."

The law and the prophets were not the nemesis of the Pharisees; Jesus Himself noted their diligence in studying the written word. You could perhaps say that Jesus was their nemesis, or that they were His.

By the way, the two groups didn't put aside their differences; they just happened to have a common opponent. The rift between them is demonstrated by the reaction to Paul's comment regarding the resurrection of the dead in Acts.